Carmignac Gestion Sells 1,946,800 Shares of Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Carmignac Gestion cut its Block stake by 60.2% in the second quarter, selling 1,946,800 shares and retaining 1,287,026 shares worth approximately $97.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Block receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $95.42; ratings include three Strong Buys and 29 Buys.
• Block insiders sold 378,006 shares worth about $30.3 million over the past 90 days, while the stock recently traded at $80.03 after reporting quarterly EPS of $1.02, above the $0.48 consensus estimate.

Carmignac Gestion lowered its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 60.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,287,026 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,946,800 shares during the quarter. Block accounts for about 1.3% of Carmignac Gestion's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Carmignac Gestion owned about 0.21% of Block worth $97,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its position in shares of Block by 0.3% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 44,901 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,503,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Block by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 707 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Block by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Block by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 8,035 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA boosted its holdings in Block by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 800 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Block from a "buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $105.00 price target on Block in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Clear Str raised Block to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,173 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $673,618.66. Following the sale, the insider owned 513,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,362,314.02. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,511 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total transaction of $783,991.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 423,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,889,486.66. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 378,006 shares of company stock valued at $30,286,001. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Block Price Performance

NYSE XYZ traded down $2.73 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.03. 3,321,519 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,510,004. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.21 and a 1-year high of $86.92. The company has a market cap of $48.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 2.52. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $80.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 1.43%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.020 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.020-1.020 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

About Block

Block NYSE: XYZ is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block's portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.

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